Rich Weinfeld

Received from early reviewers

For those not familiar with HFA this contains basic information and ideas to get you started. It is very simplistic and easy to read, which can be helpful for those who are looking for quick answers. Much of the information is readily available in other sources, but it may be helpful to those who do not wish to spend much time researching. I do have a hard time with generalizing an entire population with specific characteristics. Many of these tips will work on some children, but many will not. Each child with Autism is different, just as all children in general are different.… (plus d'informations)

As a community health nurse who often works with kids who have special learning needs, but more importantly as the aunt of a 4 year old on the spectrum, this book is invaluable. The emphasis placed on utilizing a child's strengths to achieve success in the home and in the classroom is key. A team approach is not only necessary but crucial - with the child/adolescent being the most important part of that team - for all of the child's goals to be met.

I appreciate the format of this book. It may have terminology new to parents but it is not difficult to read. I will be giving this to my sister, knowing she will have a guide for navigating her son's school years and the challenges and achievements that will be sure to come for him.

To parents and family members of kids with autism, I highly recommend "The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old-Boy with Autism" by Naoki Higashida and David Mitchell.… (plus d'informations)

This is a very ambitious book. I preferred the passages educating the reader about what is autism, how it was discovered and how a world war delayed fundamental research over the conditions. For parents, it will be very useful. It has fact sheets and clearly labeled paragraphs which suggest how to recognize behaviors and propose alternative when faced with obstruction, repetitive or rigid behavior. In fact, this book should be recommended to educators in that it implies a supportive school system which may not always be the case if individual educators are not trained. A maze of resources are available within a school system that the parent will have to compete for but at the end of the day, educators share this responsibility with the school system to acquire more knowledge about the possible cause for the behavior of their students, which require them to think outside the box asking themselves how is what I teach about received rather than being on broadcast only.

Rather than the "horrible teacher" my son may at times describe, quite often misguided, the authors' call for flexible and supportive teachers favoring smooth class transitions, absence of power struggles, clear explanations and routines, praises and corrections and organized materials, should not remain unanswered.

The next book should logically be how to transition from school to the workplace where so many managers shield themselves within rigid corporate standards to deny any support to behavior that it becomes too easy to characterize as "insubordinate and disruptive". If success is defined as knowing oneself better, then I do think this book offers useful avenues to explore for the success of all involved in a child's education, including this child.… (plus d'informations)

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.

My son is nine and about to enter the 4th grade. He's high-functioning autistic. We've been blessed so far that our local public school has been 100% supportive, that his teachers have been fair, and that we've had no problems with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) or modifications to help him cope. This coming year will be a major transition, though--he moves to a new building at his same school, he loses the beloved aide he's had since kindergarten, and of course, he has a new teacher to adapt to.

The book is addressed to both parents and teachers. It is heavy on lingo at some points, though the terminology is necessary for parents to know as they work through the system. Emphasis is on success at school, but extends to everyday behavior (by both the child and parents) at home toward the ultimate goal of graduating school and moving into the work force. I really like how they address the balance of won't or can't behaviors, such as in lists like this:
- Is it oppositional, stubborn OR difficulty with flexibility?
- Is it lazy OR difficulty initiating and shifting?
- Is it self-centered OR poor social interactions?
- Is it work refusal OR motor and organization problems?
- Is it insensitivity OR difficulty reading social cues?

Likewise, they look to involuntary responses to the environment. If the student can't focus, it is because of a noise that no one else would notice? Placement in the room? The authors make it clear that adaptations should be made, but also that the student should be continually challenged so that they can progress.

Many books on autism focus on younger ages. This book does go into old and basic stuff, for my family, like facing the diagnosis or doing an IEP for the first time, but it also spends a great deal of time on the school years and on the progression to occupational training as a teenager and what comes after high school graduation.

Citations fill the book and there's an extensive bibliography at the back along with support network information and forms that can be copied.

This is a book I'll be keeping on my shelf and likely will reference throughout the coming years.… (plus d'informations)